


Hold My Breath

by youcallherhephanie



Series: Our Sweet Memories [5]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Again, Angst, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pining, but its there, hospital visits, injuries, just a lil, not heaps, there is mentions of blood and injuries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-08-10
Packaged: 2020-08-14 11:00:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20191174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/youcallherhephanie/pseuds/youcallherhephanie
Summary: Steve brings Billy to the hospital after a serious run in with Neil. Things aren't looking too good and Steve comes to a realisation about his feelings. Funnily enough, so does Billy.With the prompts: “I promise I’ll always be there for you. No matter what. You’re not alone anymore.”





	Hold My Breath

Steve sat in an uncomfortable hospital chair. His head drooped to his shoulder every so often as he nodded off now and then. He’d been there the whole night, waiting for a sign of a miracle, for the person in front of him to wake up and be okay. 

The person in question was Billy. 

His new-found best friend lay before him on a hospital bed, arm attached to an IV stand and face red and swollen from bruises.

To backtrack the night a bit, Steve had woken up to the sound of the Camaro screeching into his driveway. He was half-grateful for the fact that his parents weren’t home as he leapt out of his bed and the house. 

Steve hadn’t been surprised at the sound of the Camaro. Since the two had started to become closer friends, Billy had been hanging around him (and his place naturally) more and more.

So when he opened the door, he was shocked when he was greeted by the sight of Max holding up a barely conscious Billy, bloody and bruised and _beaten_. Steve didn’t think he’d ever get the image of Billy’s blood and injuries out of his memory. There had been so _much_.

Steve had taken Billy to the hospital, Max filling him in on what happened. Neil had apparently gone crazy and Billy had taken the brunt of it.

Max was now at Hopper’s place with El. Steve and her had filled in Hopper about the situation, who’d said he’d deal with it and to take Billy to the hospital as fast as he could.

And that’s how he ended up here, half-asleep and anxious for his best friends life. Steve wasn’t religious by any degree, but he had prayed many times that night.

He’d been there for over a few hours now. He’d noticed that, even with all the bruises and cuts, even with the plain and garish interior of the hospital, Billy still managed to look beautiful.

His hair still glowed like sunshine, clothes still looked as though he’d styled them effortlessly, and his sleeping face painted such a peaceful expression on him; Steve couldn’t look away.

And he knew. He knew you didn’t think about your friends this way. How, if your knees touched you didn’t go back and forth nudging each other, or wanting to hold their hand and kiss them under the moonlight, or wanting to hold them in your arms and tell them everything would be okay.

Yeah, Steve knew he was falling hard. And he couldn’t care less honestly. Because Billy was hurt and he couldn’t think what it’d be like if he didn’t have him by his side.

So yeah, Steve sat there, drifting between the threads of being awake and asleep. Until finally, it happened.

He saw the movement first. The twitch in Billy’s fingers and then his eyes were slowly peeling open. 

Steve didn’t even fully register it when those blue blue eyes met his. 

“What happened, pretty boy? You look like death.” His voice was croaky, raspy and low from not being used. 

Steve, choking back on a laugh or sob (he didn’t know) flung forward and wrapped his arms around Billy. He could feel the tenseness instantly, either from the pain or shock, and adjusted his grip so that he wasn’t hurting him.

Billy held him, face moving so that it was between Steve’s shoulder and neck. He breathed out a huff.

“You doing alright?” He murmured, voice laced with concern and..affection? Steve nodded, still holding him close. 

“I was so worried that you’d... you have no idea how much I want to kick your dads ass for this.” He replied, feeling a breath of air as Billy laughed. 

Steve was pretty sure he was supposed to get a nurse or doctor, but right now, he just wanted to hold Billy. 

He pulled away a little, putting some space between them. He held onto Billy’s hands, squeezing them gently.

“You know, you can stay with me from now on. You know my parents are never home and they’d understand. You can be safe-”

“Thanks for the offer, pretty boy, but I can’t do that. You don’t need my pile of shit barging into your fancy house.” His eyes shone with tears, and he sniffed a little. He wasn’t looking at Steve in the eyes, and Steve quickly moved so that their eyes met again.

“It wouldn’t be a burden, Billy,” he said, because he knew Billy, and could read into what he said. “You’re gonna stay at my place and I promise, I’ll always be there for you. No matter what. You’re not alone anymore. You have _me_ now.” 

He smiled at him, hoping his feelings could be read, that Billy knew. 

And he did. Billy smiled back, a smile so soft and delicate Steve just about melted from how weak it made him.l

Steve leaned down and placed a soft kiss on his forehead, eyes closing as he did it. He squeezed Billy’s hands again.

“Harrington, I- I... thanks.” He looked away, almost shy. Steve laughed, tucking a wild curl behind the boys ears.

“We’re a team now, man.” He paused for a second, holding back a laugh. “And you’re definitely not gonna be thanking me when you’re doing the dishes.”

Billy squinted his eyes at him, glaring playfully. “You already making me work?” 

Steve giggled. Actually _giggled_ as he shoved lightly at Billy’s shoulder. “You gotta earn your keep around here, Hargrove. You’ll get used to it.”

Billy caught his hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss it. Steve’s heart stuttered. 

“Yeah, I sure hope so.”

**Author's Note:**

> give me some feedback :)  
you can find me on Tumblr [x](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/harring-rove)


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